site.btaContinue the Change Leader Vassilev: If Lukoil Stops Operations, Bulgaria Faces Fuel Supply Disruption

Continue the Change leader Assen Vassilev Thursday warned that if the Lukoil oil refinery near the coastal city of Burgas ceases operations, this would lead to a disruption in Bulgaria’s fuel supply. “We do not have sufficient import capacity, so it would be impossible to cover the country’s full needs,” Vassilev told reporters here in Parliament on Thursday, commenting on the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Russian companies Rosneft and Lukoil.

According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war. The global news agency quoted the US Treasury Department as saying that it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine. "We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

Vassilev recalled that during the [CC-DB Co-Floor leader] Nikolay Denkov Cabinet (June 6, 2023- March 5, 2024), an action plan had been prepared in case the state needed to respond to such sanctions. According to him, contracts had been arranged with foreign teams ready to take over operations at the refinery if necessary, and a special administrator could be appointed to ensure that production and fuel distribution to petrol stations across the country would not be interrupted. “You should ask the current Cabinet where their plan is, whether they have one, and if so, when they intend to implement it,” the MP added.